


The Pain We Bear

by buckyismymainman



Series: DC Comics One Shots [20]
Category: DC Extended Universe
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Blood, Blood and Injury, Gen, Reader is gender neutral, Soulmates, Soulmates that feel each other's pain, Swearing, broken bones mentioned, drinking mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:22:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28638468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyismymainman/pseuds/buckyismymainman
Summary: Soulmates can feel one another’s pain.  Your soulmate always seemed to be getting injured and people thought that you were unlucky in your pairing.  You didn’t mind, you just hoped that you had a chance to meet your soulmate one day.
Relationships: John Constantine/Reader
Series: DC Comics One Shots [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776175
Kudos: 20





	The Pain We Bear

You weren’t sure who your soulmate was, but whoever they were they went through a hell of a lot of pain. There were various times you would randomly get a broken bone or a random bruise you couldn’t explain. People would ask you what you did and you would shrug and just say it wasn’t you but your soulmate. They would give you looks wondering who the hell your soulmate was. It was one thing to have cuts, bumps, and bruises on occasion and another thing entirely to constantly be injured.

You also weren’t in a rush to meet your soulmate. It wasn’t because you didn’t want to but because you believed that everything happens for a reason. You would meet your soulmate when you were supposed to. In the meantime, you were just along for the ride and praying that he wasn’t killed before you got the chance to meet him.

If a soulmate was killed there was said to be an indescribable pain. A pain so painful that there were no words to describe just what it felt like. Worse than a broken bone or anything else that you could endure. Some people never quite recovered from the pain of losing their soulmate. That was the fear clawing at the back of your mind.

What if they die? It would whisper into your mind. What will you do then? You’ve never had the chance to meet them.

When those thoughts started to crowd your mind you would try to drown them out doing anything. Cooking, cleaning, a hobby you had picked up, even reading. You’d go through the superhero news seeing what Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were up to along with the others. Some people thought they were menaces, but you felt safer knowing they were out there watching over the world and making sure nothing bad happened to you or anyone else.

“Are you sure you have to leave us?” Your friend asked. “I mean you have a great life here.”

You smiled at her, “I don’t know what it is about Liverpool, but something’s calling me there. I keep getting these signs and I think something good is waiting for me there.” You loaded the last of your things into the back of the cab. You had shipped most of your belongings ahead of you so that way they’d be waiting in Liverpool when you arrived. “This is a good thing,” you squeezed her. “I promise I’ll let you know when I get there and settled.”

Then you were off. Leaving behind the only life you had ever known for the chance at something better. For something new and different.

Weeks passed and you had officially settled into a routine. You made some new friends, they were your neighbors and offered to show you around. And that Friday the group of you went out to a pub together to celebrate your first week in Liverpool. Beers and drinks of choice flowed and you were laughing and having a good time. In the week since moving to Liverpool, your soulmate hadn’t injured themselves at all which was a miracle to you. You thought that this was the longest they had gone without getting hurt.

“I’m gonna get us another round,” you giggled as you slipped out of the booth and headed for the bar. There were a few people at the tables and at the bar. A football game was on the TV and most people were transfixed on it. 

As you leaned against the bar you noticed a man with sandy blonde hair nursing a beer. He was handsome in the roguish kind of way. Slightly unkempt, clothes a little rumpled, and his hair looked like he had run his hands through it several times. He also had a beard beginning to grow which only added to the look. You wondered who he was and if he came here often, but before you could even think about broaching the subject with him the bartender approached and asked what you wanted.

The night ended and you and your new neighbors all headed home together promising to do this again soon.

The following Friday you went back to the pub - this time you were alone. None of your neighbors could make it out, but you were okay with that. You just wanted to see if you could see the mysterious stranger again. That pull that you had felt tugging you to Liverpool was tugging you towards him.

Your soulmate had gotten cut on their cheek apparently and had skinned the palms of their hand. You had been at work when it had happened and you had to quickly excuse yourself before you bled over everything.

Now you were seated at the bar, the wounds healing, and nursing a water. You didn’t necessarily feel like drinking tonight, you just wanted to see that man again. You were just about to give up when he came in. He said hello to the bartender and sat on a stool a few stools away from your own.

What struck you about him this time was the cut in the exact same place as the one on your cheek. You noticed his hands were bandaged as well and the breath seemed to leave your lungs. Carefully you slid off the stool and made your way over to the man, “How did you get injured?” Not exactly what you wanted to open with, but it was the only thing that came out at the moment.

He turned looking like he was going to tell you to bugger off, but then he stiffened as he noticed the wounds in the same place that his were. “Oh hell,” was the first thing he said. His voice rough and making you shiver. “I didn’t think I had one of you.”

You blinked, “What?”

“A soulmate,” he said. “I honestly didn’t think I had one. You barely ever get injured. The only way I knew you were still alive is when you stubbed your toe a few weeks back.” You remembered that day well and wondered what your soulmate thought of how little you had ever been injured compared to him. “You have the worst luck being paired to a man like me.”

Okay, so this wasn’t off to the start you thought you would have. “I don’t think I’m unlucky,” you told him. “The universe paired us off for a reason.” You stuck out your hand, “I’m Y/N Y/L/N.”

He eyed your proffered hand for a moment before taking it, “John Constantine.”

It took a while for John to open up to you and for you to learn that he could wield magic and was a hero of sorts. Not quite like Superman or Wonder Woman, but a hero in your eyes nonetheless. You learned how he got injured and he tried to be more careful now knowing you personally and knowing what you looked like. He couldn’t stand the thought of you feeling his pain.

At night he would lie awake with you beside him looking at all the scars you had because of him. He had asked you once if they bothered you and you told him no that they were a part of him and you were happy to share something with him. You had grown used to the pain and it didn’t scare you as much as it once had.

John still felt guilty any time he came home to see you nursing one of his wounds, but you would kiss him and promise him that everything was okay and that you were all right. He took you around the world with him, showing you his favorite places and trying to keep you out of as much trouble as he could.

And that was how the two of you spent your days. Traveling and spending as much time as you could together just existing as soulmates. He wasn’t what you had expected for a soulmate, but you wouldn’t have him any other way.


End file.
